While the international community calls for the Assad regime to stop the suppression of protesters, the Syrian army stormed cities and towns and carried out a mass arrest campaign. According to news reports, hundreds of Syrian soldiers stormed late Wednesday night Sakba town on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus, raided some houses and carried out arrestד.

Thousands of people marched in Sakba last Friday, demanding the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

This comes at a time when news agencies reported that army tanks deployed around the southern city of Dara'a, the coastal city of Banias and around the city of Rastan north to the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The tensions escalated last Friday in the city of Rastan, and human rights sources accused the Syrian military intelligence of killing 17 demonstrators in the city after the resignation of 50 members of the Baath Party there.

However, according to French news agency (AFP) the Syrian army began Thursday to withdraw from the city of Dara'a. Major General, Riad Haddad, Director of Political Department of the Syrian army was quoted as saying that the army will begin pulling out Thursday from the besieged city.

Haddad said "the army ended the task and his troops will start withdrawing from Dara'a within hours". He said the troops "arrested terrorist groups and armed infidels that terrorized and killed innocent people and damaged properties."